Organisational culture, management and control Essay

Organisational culture, management and control - Essay Example utine. To illustrate the different shades of culture, a sociologist uses the parameter of international viewpoints (Fineman p.18); in a survey conducted on car mechanics from different countries, the responses generated reflect peculiar cultural attributes. To the resp- ondent from the UK, when asked to define his job, he simply puts it as "fitting the hub caps". The respondent from the US had a broader picture in mind, although his opinion may be said to stem from a stereotypical cynicism that characterises material-conscious Americans, "I make profits for Henry Ford." Finally, when the question was asked to a Japanese, his response smacked of intense loyalty and devotion people in Japan have towards their organisation, "I am member of a team that makes the best cars in the world." Is there any doubt why Japanese car companies continue to dominate the world market Indeed, as Alvesson points out (p.2), an organisation's culture is principal means to achieve effectiveness, growth and success in business. If culture plays such a major initiative in defining success or failure, the stakes only get higher when an organisation has to manage transformations and great upheavals, that when come with mergers and acquisitions, employee induction or retrenchment, dive- rsification or consolidation. It is on occasions like these that the true mettle of a mana- ger is tested. Rather than sitting on the fence and lamenting that "cultures can't be cha- nged", an intelligent manager looks for solutions, ways and methods to help the organis- ation tide over circumstances, and retain its control. Harrison (p.2) unfailingly mentions that transformations are both "desirable and feasible, but accomplishing it would be risky and difficult." It is an inevitable challenge that competent managers have to always brace themselves for. And, there are established tools and strategies that apply to change mana- gement. To corroborate the diagnostic methodology he presented in his book, Harrison offers a simplistic assessment on going about cultural transformations (p.1). His three cri- tical facets of diagnosis start with a detailed process to prepare a diagnostic study follo- wed by usage of suitable methods to frame issues, and closing in by devising innovative methods for collecting, analysing and summarising of relevant data. In the case study mentioned therein, we witness a real-life example of the problem faced by the Head of training in a national health maintenance organisation (HMO). An ambitious programme was envisaged to undertake a major organisational transform for overall benefits. Now, this

Critical thinking in management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical thinking in management - Essay Example Moreover, it is significant to understand that employees because play a great role among other defining factors. The question will be answered by including all the main arguments, the theories, authors who have contributed in their knowledge and understanding and case examples to illustrate the above arguments. Further, the question requires annotated bibliography and it will be provided at the end of the essay. Essay body Organisational behavior is a field which studies how people think, act and feel within a setting of an organisation (Sapru 2008). Outstanding managers have been identified and they possess four types of skills, which allow them to handle the process of behavior management effectively (Sapru 2008: 276). These steps include; being familiar with behavioral challenge, the ability to pick out the causes of current behavior, identifying a strategy for attaining behavioral goals, and the ability to implement and adjust the chosen strategy as required (Parler & Ritson 2005 : 1276). These are the pillars of management theory as discussed by Hartley (2006), Tsukamoto-Wagner (2008), and Brownlie et al (2008). On the other hand, guru theory is based on the assumption that the gurus promote maxims, which specify the behavior rules, but they never increase the managers’ competence as in the works of Bos & Heusinkveld (2007), Collins (2001), Parler and Ritson (2005), and Barabba et al (2002). However, the theory is significant when applied from the manager’s side. Organizational behavior in management is best handled using behavioral theories that are well discussed by Bucklin et al (2000) and Baron and Greenberg (2008). This field of study was created around 1900 and its major perspectives have included scientific management (Tsukamoto-Wagner 2008: 361), human relations approach (Van de Ven 2003), and contingency approach as the latest (MANAGE 2012: 1). According to the analyses of Wallach (1983: 32), Alvero et al. (2000: 43), and Tompkins (20 05: 398), the contingency approach recognises organisational behavior as a complex field of study, driven by different characters. Managers in organisations need to understand this and develop their personal answers to some extent. Fayol’s theory of competitive strategy is said to be advocated by foyol for management education, both as a profession and a discipline. In this case, Yoo et al (2006: 360), Wright (2006) Williams (2003), The Wisest (2011), Collins (2003), and Black et al. (1992) approached the competative strategy theory from different perspectives. The diversity of this theory makes it compartible with many other approaches and when blended, any organisation will be able to achieve a working successful behavior. Findings A combination of Organisational behavior management with the other theories is the best aspect of managing organisations (Wallach 1983: 32). This is significant because there is no signle theory that can be said to solve all managerial challenges or to be applied successfully in managerial behavior. Therefore, the approach requires application of psychological principles of organisational be